Card-spreading device



P. E. FLEMING. CARD SPREADING DEVICE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 7, 1921- Patented June 7, 1921. 2 5HEETS-SHEET 1 fa Q9 a9.

P. E. FLEMING. CARD SPREADlNG DEVICE.

' APPLICATION FILED FEB. 7. 1921 1,380,371 PatentedJune 7, 1921.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

3 five/2&1" 17677217239 UNITED STATES PAT ENT orrlcu.

PAUL E. FLEMING, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

CARD-SPREADING nnvron.

essee 1.

i Specification of Letters Patent. Patented J ufie' '7, 1921,

Application filed February 7, 1921. Serial No. 442,915.

erence may be made to said cards without raising or removing the cards from the drawers or otherwise disturbing or displacing them from the positions they occupy in the drawers.

Among the objects of my invention is to provide a spreading device which will efficiently accomplish the purpose mentioned and consists in the matters hereinafter described and more particularly set forth in the appended claims.

In the accompanying drawings' Figure .1 is a perspective view ofa file cabinet of the single drawer type, equipped with a card spreading device of my invention; V

Fig. 2 is an enlarged longitudinal, vertical sectional view, taken on line 22 of Fig. 1 the drawer being shown closed;

Fig. 3 is a vertical, transverse sectional view, taken on line 33 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a similar'sectional view, taken on line t-t of Fig. 2; 1 1

Fig. 5 is a horizontal sectional View taken on line 5-5 ofFig. 2;

Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional view taken on line 6-6 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the card spreading shoe;

Fig. 8 is a view showing how the shoe spreads the cards; and

F 9 is a view of the shoe-mounted in a manner different from that shown in the preceding figures.

In the drawings, I have shown a single card filing box 1 having a drawer 2. The

drawer has sidewalls 3, 3, a bottom wall 4, a

rear wall 5, and a front wall 6, the latter having a size to close the outer open end of the box 1 when the drawer is closed. The side walls 3 terminate short of the top of the front wall 6 to engage under cleats or strips 7, 7 secured to the side walls of the box 1 on the inside thereof and forming guides for the draweras it is moved into and out of the box, Filed in the drawer and standing substantially upright on their lower edges are a plurality of index cards: 8, these being all the same size so as to extend up above the upper edges of the side walls 3 substantially the same distance, and the drawer 2 may be provided with a plurality of transverse wires 9 for the purpose of holding the cards. uprightand in segregated groups, as indicated in Fig. 2, although these wires may be omitted and the usual follower employed to hold the cards substantially in contact as customary in card drawers, of this general character.

The card spreading mechanism of myinvention 1s: constructed and applied to the file box as follows. Arranged above the cards in the drawer is a rod. 10, which extends from the" back of the box 1 to a point short of the outer open end thereof, as shown in Figs. 2 and 5. This rod 10 has at its outer end an armll and at its inner end an arm 12, both of which are rotatably connected with the box 1 in a manner permitting the rod to have a swinging movement toward and from the top of the cards or drawer. This is accomplished by having the outer arm llbent and extended through a bracket 13 depending from the top of the box 1 and the other arm 12 rota-i tably engaged in a socketed member '14 secured to the rear wall of the box, as shown in Fig. 5. f H Secured'to the under side of the top of the box and extending lengthwise thereof are two laterally spaced metal strips 15, 15 form: ing a guide-way for flat plate or slide 16. This carries at its rear end astop member17 arranged beyond the rear ends of the guides 15 so as to contact therewith and limit the forward movement of the plate 16 in the slide-way. Thi'splate 16 is moved rearward while the rod 10 is rocked downward toward the cards in the drawer and moved forwardby a spring, such construction to be now described.

Secured to'the rear wall of the box is a bracket 18, this being high enough vabove the bottom wall of the box to clear the rear wall 5 of the drawer, which does not extend above the side walls thereof, as shown in Fig. 6. Between this "bracket-18 and the top wall of the box is a vertical shaft 19 journaled at its lowerend on the bracket-and at its upper end in the top wall. of the box. Fixed to this shaft 19 is an arm 20 having its outer end connected to the inner end of a link 21, which has its outer end connected with an arm 22 of a cam member 23 located betweenthe guides 15 and pivotally mounted on the plate 16 by a pivot pin 24. The pin 24 extends through an arm 25 also secured to the plate16 and extending over the cam member 23. The cam member 23 carries a pin 26, which when brought into contact with the adjacent side edge of the arm 25 stops the rotation of the cam member and causes the plate 16 to be slid backward when the shaft 19 is rocked in a direction for that purpose. This is brought'about by providing on the shaft 19 another arm 27 connected'with a link 28, which has a universal joint connection with an arm 29, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. 'This arm 29 is connected with I" the rod 10. A spring 30 is coiled about a pin on the bracket 14 and has one end fixed to the file box and the other end bearing against the rod 10 so as to normally hold the rod in position along the top of the box and the other parts inthe position shown in full lines in Figs. 2 and 5.

The outer end of the plate 16 carries a shoe 31, which, as shown in Fig. 7, has a flat body portion 32 overlapping the plate 16 and is provided adjacent its rear end with a pair of lugs or cars 33 to enter recesses or apertures in the plate 16. Adjacent the outer end of the body portion is a strap 34,

through which is inserted the free end of a leaf spring 35 for the purpose of drawing the body portion up against'the plate 16 and normally holding the shoe 31 out of contact with the upper edges of the cards in the drawer 2. The inner end of this spring 35 is secured to the plate 16.

The drawer 2'carries a rod 36, which extends along the bottom wall of the drawer and preferably in the slot with which these drawers are usually provided. To the rear .end of this rod 36 is secured an arm 37, to

which is connected the lower end of a member 38 extending upward through an elongated slot in a bracket 39 secured to the rear wall 5 of the drawer and having at its upper end a hook 40 to engage over therodlO. At the forward end of the rod 36 is secured an arm 41, and extending through the front wall 6 of the drawer adjacent its upper end is a short shaft 42 having at its inner end a crank arm 43 connected with the arm 41 by a link 44. This shaft 42 extends through the front wall of the drawer and is provided at its outer end with a handle 45.

The structure described operates as fol lows: When it is desired to inspect any one or a number of cards 8 in the drawer, without withdrawing the particular card 01 cards'from the drawer, the latter is pulled open by grasping the handle 45. The rod 16 is held in its position up along the top of the box, as shown in Fig. 6, by the spring 30, and the hook 40 slides along the rod 10 as the drawer 2 is pulled out without swinging the rod downward, as the handle 45 is not turned as the drawer is being slid outward. After the drawer has been opened to the point desired, that is, to that Point where it is desired to spread a particular group of cards, the movement of the drawer is stopped and then the handle 45 is turned to rotate the rod 36 and draw down the hooked member 38, which rocks the rod 10 down against the action of the spring 30 and draws the plate 16 rearward, which has heretofore remained in its normal position at the front end of the guide-way between the 7 strips 15. i As the cam member 23is turned, its forwardly projecting lug 46 is turned to ride over a raised cam projection'47 at the inner end of the shoe body 32 and causes the shoe 31 to move downward against and into contact with the upper edges of the cards. In this movement the shoe body 32 pivots about the lugs'33n The cam member 23 is causedto rotate by the link 21 pulling on it and a spring pressed pawl 48 mounted on one of the guidestrips 15 engaging a lug 49 on the cam member, as shown in Fig. 5. The pawl 48 retains its engagement with the lug 49 as the plate 16 is being moved rearward and carries the shoe therewith until the curved edge 50 of the cam member 23 moves the pawl 48 out of engagement with the lug 49, whereupon the lug 46 is on the highest point of the cam 47 and holds the shoe 31 in contact with the'upper edges of the cards 8 and, as the plate 16 is carried back to the limit of its rearward movement, causes the shoe 31 to remain in contact with the cards 8 and spread or separate their upper edges as the shoe moves over the tops thereof. As soon as the plate 16 reaches the limit of its rearward movement, the handle 45 is released. The spring 30 then acts to return the parts to their normal positions and the shoe 31 is instantly raised above and out of contact with the cards before the plate 16 starts forward, because the cam member 23 turns back to its normal position before the spring exerts its pressure to move the plate 16 forward. As soon as the lug 49 rides pastthe pawl 48, the latter snaps into position to the rear of the lug and places the parts in position to operate over again when the handle 45 is turned for that purpose.

By this construction, the spreading of the upper edges of the cards is controlled independently of the movement of the drawer, and thus the shoe 31 may be brought directly to bear on that particular group of cards which it is desired to spread, not being required first to spread all of the cards in advance of that group before reaching the group desired. This is an advantage because the unnecessary spreading of cards not wanted is avoided and further permits the drawer to'be opened to the particular group of cards-to be spread and then spreading those cards without moving-the drawer at all and in that way control the spreading of the cardsbecause the operator can spread them rapidly or slowly by turning the handle 45 at the speed desired. Furthermore, if the card desired in the particular group being spread is not seen when first spread','thehandle may be turned-and the operationrepeated as many times as needed to bring the particular .card or cards to view, Without at any time moving the drawerand moving that group of cards away from the spreading shoe. For example, suppose that the group of cards shown in Fig. 8. contain at their upper edges, the -;name s' and addresses of customers, client's,or others whose last names all begin with the same letter of the alphabet, say F and this group is arranged in the drawer 2 in the position occupied by that letter in the alphabet, there ofcourse being other groups of cards for the other letters. Should it be desired that one of the cards in group F be inspected in order to make note of the nameand address of'a certain person in that group,- the drawer 2 is pulled out until the shoe 31 is above and at the beginning of that group@ The drawer is stopped and thehandle 45 then turned and the shoe caused to come down on the tops of those cards, moved over the cards rearward, bending their upper edges backward and spreading the cards in succession so that the data on the upper portions thereof may be seen, without reaching in and separating the cards or removing them out of the group or from the file drawer. After the shoe 31 has moved to spread all of the cards in the group, the mechanism heretofore described raises the shoe above and out of contact with the cards and returns it to its forward position at the beginning of'the groupwithout being in'contact with the cards. In case it is desired to again spread the cards to note the same one or others in the group, the handle 45-is again turned andthe operation repeated. Should itbe-desi-red to spread a group or groups in advance or to; the rear of the group F, the drawer is moved to the group desiredand the cards in that group spread, in'thesame manner as described for the group F. This enables the cards to be inspected quickly and with ease and without removing the cards from the drawer or disturbing or displacing them.

InFig. 7 I have shown a shoe 51 adjustably connected with its body portion 32, and this is accomplished bymakingthe shoe separate from the body partand connecting it by a screw and slot connection 52, 53, respectively,"as' shown. This willtake care of cards of various-heights that may be placed in the drawer and further permit the shoe to exertthe proper amount of downward heretofore described for actuating the shoe.- In the arrangement shown in Fig. 9, the

shoe 54, when the rod 10 is rockedclownwa-rd by the handle 45, comes in-contact with the upper end of the cards, and spreads the cards =by 'bending them backward as the drawer is pulled outward. In this form,

the cards are spread by the movement of the drawer, the position of the shoe being fixed. "While I have shown and described herein in detail a card spreading "mechanism con structed and mounted in accordance with my inyention, it is to be of course understood that the details of construction and arrangement of parts shown maybe variously changed and modified without departing from the spirit and scope of my invention.

claimas-my invention:

The combination with a receptacle adaptedtoeontain file cards, one behind the other and-substantiallyupright, of a memher in said receptacle and adapted while in contact with the cards to spread the same by bending their upper edges backward, in succession, inthe relative movement of said cards andm'ember past each other.

2. The combination with a file cabinet having a-slidable drawer therein adapted to contain file cards, one behind-the other andsubstantially upright, of a shoein said cabinet above said cards, and means operable from the exterior ofsaid cabinet for bringing said shoe down against the cards to spread the same by bending their upper edges'backward, in succession, in the rela tive movement-ofsaid shoe and cards past each other.

3Q'The combination with a file cabinet,

of a drawer slidably mounted therein and the other and substantially upright, and'a member located in and supported by said cabinet above the cards and adapted while in contact with the cards to spread the same by bendingtheir upper edges hackward,in succession, in the movement of said member and said drawer relatively to each other.

'5'. The combination with a file cabinet,

of a drawer slidably mounted therein and adapted to contain filecards, one behind the other and substantiallyupright, and a member located in and supported by said cabinet above the cards and adapted while in contact .withthe cards to spread the same by bending their upper edges backward, in succession, in'the movement of said mem' ber independently of the movement of said drawer. a v

6. The combination with a file cabinet, of a drawer slidably mounted therein and adapted to contain file cards, one, behind the other and substantially upright, a shoe located in and supported by said cabinet above the cards, cooperating means carried by the drawer and cabinet and operable from the exterior of the drawer for causing said shoe to be brought down into contact c with the cards-and to spread the same by bending their upper edges backward, in succession, in the movement ofsaid shoe independently of the drawer;

7 The combination with a file cabinet, of a drawer slidably mounted therein and adapted to contain file cards, one behind the other and substantially upright, a shoe located in and supported by said cabinet above the cards, and cooperating means carried by the drawerand cabinet and operable from the exterior of the drawer for causing said shoe to be brought down into contact with the cards and for moving said shoe a predetermined distance over a group of said cards for spreading the same independently of the remaining cards in the drawer.

8. The combination with afile cabinet, of a, drawer slidably mountedtherein and adapted to -contain file cards, one behind the other and substantially upright, a shoe located in and supported by said cabinet above the cards, cooperating means carried by the drawer and cabinet and-operable from the exterior of the drawer for causing said shoeto be brought down into contact with the cards and for moving said'shoe a predetermined distance over a group of said cards for spreading the same independently of the remaining cards in the drawer, and means for raising the shoe out of contact with the cards after the spreading operation and for returning the shoe to its starting position.

9. The combination with a file cabinet having a drawer therein adapted to contain file cards, one behind the other and substantially upright, of a shoe in said cabinet above said cards, means operable from the exterior of said cabinet for bringing said shoe down against the cards, means actuated "through said first mentioned means for moving said shoe while in contact with the cards backward over the same to spread-them by bending their upper edges backward, in succession, and means for raising said shoe out of contact with the cards after the spreading operation. and to return the shoe to its starting position above the cards. 7

10. The combination with a file cabinet having a drawer. therein adapted to contain file cards, one behind vthe other and substantially upright, of a shoe in said cabinet above said cards, mechanism comprisingmeans for bringing said shoe down against the cards, means actuated through said first mentioned means for moving the shoe While in contact with the cards backward over the same to spread themby bending their upper edges backward, in succession, means for raising the shoe out of contact with said cards after the spreading operation and to return the shoe to its starting position above said cards, a handlecarried by said drawer and operableirom'the outsideothereof for actuating said mechanism, and means connecting said handle with said-v mechanism ina manner permitting said handleto operate said mechanism' independently of the movement of said drawer and to allow the latter to slide in the cabinet without actuatingsaid mechanism.

11. The combination witha file cabinet having a drawer therein adapted to contain file cards, one, behind the other and substantially upright, of a shoe in said cabinetabove said cards, means for bringing the shoe down against the cards for spreading the same by bending their upper edgesbackward, in succession, in the movement of said shoe backward over said cards while in contact therewith independently of the movement of said drawer, and a handle carried by said drawer and operable from the outside thereof for operating said shoe actuating means, said handle being connectedwith said means in a manner permitting the drawer to belmoved to bring below the shoe the group of cards to be spread thereby.

12. The combination with a file cabinet having'a drawer therein adapted to contain file cards, one behind the other and substantially upright, of a shoe ipivotally and slidably supported-by said cabinet above said cards, a rod rockably supported'by said cabinet above said cards and extending lengthwise of said. drawer, meansconnecting the shoe and rod and adapted upon the rocking of the rod toward said cards toirock the shoe down against the cards andto move the ,shoe backward-over the cards while in con tact therewith to spread the cards by bend ing their upper edges backward, in succes sion, spring means-to rock the rod away from the cards when released, spring means to raise the shoe out ofcontact-with the cards afterthe spreading operation and to return the shoe to its starting position when the rod is released, a handle rockably mounted on the drawer and operable from the exterior thereof, and'means including a hook member slidably engaged with the rod to depressthe same when the handle is turned in one direction.

13. The combination with a file cabinet having a drawer therein adapted to contain file cards, one behind the other and substantially upright, of an endwise movable plate slidably supported by the cabinet above the cards, a shoe pivotally connected with said plate, cooperating cam members on the plate and shoe for moving the latter into contact with the upper edges of the cards, a rod rockably supported by the cabinet above the cards and extending lengthwise of the drawer, means connecting the plate with said rod for causing the cam member to rock the shoe into contact with the cards and to slide the plate rearward to spread the cards by the shoe upon rocking the rod toward the cards, spring means to raise the shoe out of contact with the cards upon the release of the rod, spring means for returning the shoe to its starting position above the cards when the rod is released, a handle rockably mounted on the drawerand operable from the exterior thereof, and means including a hook member slidably engaged with'said rod for actuating the shoe to spread the cards when the handle is turned in a direction to draw the rod down toward the cards.

14. The combination with a file cabinet having a drawer therein adapted to contain file cards, one behind the other and substantially upright, of an endwise movable plate slidably supported in the cabinet above the cards, a shoe pivotally connected with said plate, a cam member pivoted on said plate in rear of said shoe and engaging an inclined rib on said shoe, an arm secured to said cam member, a rod rockably supported in said cabinet above said cards and extending lengthwise of the drawer, mechanism connectin said rod with said arm for moving said p ate back and forth in the rocking of said rod, a bar rockably mounted in said drawer below the cards and connected with said rod in a manner permitting the drawer to be slid in said cabinet without rocking said rod, a handle rotatably mounted at the front of said drawerand operable from the exterior thereof, means connecting said handle with the rod for rocking the same in a direction to spread the cards by said shoe, and spring means for the shoe and rod for raising the shoe out of contact with the cards and returning the shoe and rod back to starting position upon releasing said handle to turn in the opposite direction.

15. The combination with a file cabinet having a drawer therein adapted to contain file cards, one behind the other and substantially upright, of a shoe in said cabinet above the cards, said shoe having a body portion and a card carrying portion, means adjustably connecting the two portions of the shoe together so that the card engaging portion may be adjusted toward and from the cards, means operable from the exterior of the cabinet for bringing the shoe down against the upper edges of the cards and to move the shoe while in contact with the cards backward over the same to spread them by bending their upper edges backward, in succession, and spring actuated means to raise the shoe out of contact with the cards after the spreading operation and to return the shoe to starting position above the cards when the first mentioned means is released.

16. The combination with a file cabinet having a drawer therein adapted to contain file cards, one behind the other, and substantially upright, of a rod rockably supported in said cabinet above the cards and extending lengthwise of the drawer, a shoe above the cards and connected with said rod and adapted to be brought down against the cards in the rocking of the rod toward the same, a handle rotatably mounted on said drawer and operable from the exterior thereof, means connecting said handle with said rod in a manner permitting the drawer to be slid in the cabinet without rocking the rod and to enable the rod to be rocked by the handle to move the shoe into contact with the cards, and spring means to raise the shoe out of contact with the cards when the handle is released.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention, I affix my signature this 31st PAUL E. FLEMING.

day of January, A. D. 1921. 

